Yesterday the magic day - September 2nd - was announced for the first ever Indy Racing League event in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press reports the Belle Isle road course will be a featured event for the next five years of IndyCar racing.

The track last featured "Indy-style" racing in 2001, when then CART driver HelioCastroneves won the race. I don't know if this makes Spiderman the defending champion, but at least there's some continuity. For what it's worth, Mr. Judd was second in the race, Andretti 2.0 was fourth, the Invisible Man was 15th, Iceman placed 22nd and Rocky was dead last.

As for changes to the track to improve racing:

Brian Barnhart, IRL president and chief operating officer, said improvements to the old racecourse at Belle Isle would be made, including paving the paddock area, which turned into a muddy mess during rain at previous races. He also said bridges and berms for viewing would be erected, and the track would be reconfigured to make for more passing opportunities.

Interestingly enough, the only dates left to fill are from Michigan Speedway (yes, a second race in the state of Michigan), Sonoma and possibly Mid-Ohio. Sonoma will probably be announced in August soon, but Curt Cavin of IndyStar says there are some problems trying to get both Michigan and Mid-Ohio on the schedule. Basically, July 22 and August 5 are the dates in question, but as you can read for yourself there are some issues for both tracks in determining who goes where.